PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico softball opened the 2023 season with a 3-2 start with wins over Newman, Southern Nazarene, and University of Colorado – Colorado Springs. The team will play a doubleheader tomorrow against RMAC foe, Chadron State, hosted by Lubbock Christian University.

Before the games, please take a look at the Four Bases:

First Base – Savvy Shutout: Last Saturday, the Greyhounds shutout Southern Nazarene, 7-0. ENMU got the scoring party started with a two-run top of the first inning. They added four more runs in the second, including a lengthy shot from Alondra Vasquez for a three-run HR. An insurance run in the seventh scored by Mikenzey Patterson by way of a Jokaira Paredes double sealed the deal. Brook Leger threw all seven innings, only allowing four hits on the afternoon.

Second Base – Welcome to ENMU: Greyhound fans are going to know the name Taighen Whitzel by the end of the season because of her power at the plate. The junior transfer hit a bomb in her first at-bat for the Green and Silver. Two plate appearances later, she hit a second homer to help Eastern beat Newman, 9-4. She also hit a double in the bottom of the sixth to give Eastern a lead late in the game against UCCS.

Third Base – Winning Trio: Eastern New Mexico started the season with three wins and all of them came from games started by senior Brook Leger. The Albuquerque native persevered through a tough first appearance as she gave up 13 hits and four runs to Newman. Despite the unfavorable start, she managed to keep ENMU in the driver's seat and pull off the program's first win of 2023. She continued her excellence in the circle with the 7-0 shutout over SNU. To finish the weekend, she went 4.1 innnings, including coming back for the last out of the game to deny the Mountain Lions a chance to complete a rally in the final moments of Sunday's contest.

Home – Season Opener: Chadron State will play its first games of 2023 against Eastern. The Eagles finished 2022 with an 11-37 record and went 10-26 in conference action. They are led by Kaley Ness and she is assisted by CSC softball alum Kayla Campuzano. Notable names coming back this season include Mackenzi Kroll, Kenzie Garner, and Lauren Zimmerman. Last year, the Greyhounds beat the same squad 9-0 in five innings of play. Leger pitched in the matchup.